Challenge - 01

You want to make beautiful art. You want to make collages, art journals, and draw pretty pictures. You just dont know where to start.
I suggest you start with the background. Don't even worry about what your art will look like when you are done.

1: Find yourself a piece of paper (loose leaf or in your journal). Don't worry about type, weight, color.

2: Look in your art/craft supplies for something that can add color. It can be anything. Water color, acrylics, markers, crayons, ink. Anything.

3: Choose a couple of colors.

4: Apply to paper. I suggest that if you are using paints, just use your fingers to apply the paint. It doesnt have to be pretty. It just have to be. Of course getting your fingers dirty can be intimidating, and if it is still too much for you, then by all means use a brush, rag, sponge, or whatever you want. There are no rules!

5: Let dry!

This exercise is all about adding color. And has nothing to do with how your end result will look. You may choose to later on add more color, some collage, or completely cover it up. Just add color now!

TIP 1: When working with colors, especially wet medium such as paints, there is always the risk that you will get 'mud'.
You can blend your colors while they are still wet, however you should always keep in mind that when blending wet medium there is always a moment when you go from "oh that's pretty" to "oh wow, that's mud". You will need to know when to stop swirling the colors together. There is no manual that will tell you that after so much time, you must stop, it is up to you to decide. But don't worry, you are not going to destroy your journal. If you get 'mud', just let it dry, and paint over it.

TIP 2: Gesso. I love gesso, and it really comes in handy when your beautiful art has turned to 'mud'.
Gesso is a mixture used for surface preparation and is very good to have on hand when working in your art journal. You can use it both directly on your paper to prep the paper before you start painting, you can use it to 'rescue' your page if your art has turned to 'mud', or you can use in combination with your other wet or dry medium.

TIP 3: If you don't have much time to hang around and watch paint dry, use an old hair dryer. However, if you used acrylic paints, oil pastels, etc. be sure not to apply too much heat. If your hair dryer have the options, use cool air, or low heat. Hold the hair dryer at least 8 inches from your art, and use a swift side to side motion to move the air over your art.
You can purchase heat guns at art supply stores that are invented just for this purpose, but if you have an old hair dryer that will work just as good.

Enjoy!

And if you feel up to it, please share pictures of your "background" art at our Flickr gallery HERE

SAMPLES:

This one I did in a "Childrens Dictionary turned Art Journal", so it is done on regular book paper prepped with gesso. I used watercolors. First I added a layer of pink water color that I smoothed with a wet wipe. Just apply the color with a large paint brush, then take a wet wipe (w/ alcohol) and wipe over to smooth the colors. It was such a thin layer of paint that it didn't need any drying time. Then I took a very wet paint brush and added some large drops/smears of dark purple watercolor. Lifted up the book and tilted from side to side to make the paint run. I removed some of the paint that had run to the edge with a paper towel, then used the hair dryer to dry it just a little bit. Then I added some more purple and tilted the book again to make it run in more directions. When I felt it had made enough "runs" I dried it with the hair dryer again. This time till it was almost completely dry.
Amount of time spent painting: 5 minutes.
Prep and Clean-up: 5 minutes.
Total amount of time spent: 10 minutes.

This is done in the same book as the one above. This time I used acrylic paint.
First I used a large brush to paint a layer of Citrus Green acrylic paint from FolkArt Plaid. I let it dry some while I figured out what I wanted to do next. Next I added a few drops of Grape colored acrylic paint from Delta Ceramcoat. Just drops here and there. Not too many. Then I used a Speedball Soft Rubber Brayer to "roll out" the drops. Didn't want it to cover completely. Just enough to make so smears. Did the same with a Baby Pink from FolkArt Plaid, and Metallic Inca Gold from FolkArt Plaid. The gold layer I did smear a little more than the other layers. I let the paint dry a little between layers. Just long enough while I cleaned the color of the brayer.
Amount of time spent painting: 5 minutes.
Prep and Clean-up: 5 minutes.
Total amount of time spent: 10 minutes.

NOTE: These pages might not look like much, but remember that when I make these pages into art journal pages, these painted backgrounds might not even show. I might cover the majority of this page with collage, I might add more paint or other color, or I might change my mind completely and cover with gesso. Art Journaling is not about the beginning or the end. It is all about the process. I really enjoyed painting these pages and it was very relaxing for me. And really the enjoyment you get from doing is all that counts.